Heading into 2025, the film schedule didn’t have too many standouts to look forward to, with multiple smaller films going on to dominate the box office for the year. Despite it being a good year for film, it certainly feels like the calm before what could be a truly memorable 2026.
Honourable Mentions
As always before jumping into the list I’ll give you a few films to look out for which don’t quite crack my Top 10.
Clayface – This is one of two films being released by DC Studios in 2026, a smaller film set in the DCU about the origin of one of Batman’s villains, seems to be lining up for another grittier, darker story, which could either lead to a huge success or a big flop.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – A recent trailer for this film shows it will pick up where 28 Years Later left off. I really enjoyed the film, I can’t wait to see where the story continues, my only caution is that it isn’t being directed by Danny Boyle. This film is just a couple of weeks away, and early reviews have been positive, with the film delving even more into the horror side of the genre.
The Bride! – This film is a fresh take on the story of the Bride of Frankenstein, this time set in 1930’s Chicago. Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, it looks to be very unique for the monster genre, and comes out just before the Oscars ceremony in March, which could prove a double hit for Jessie Buckley.
10. LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY
Sneaking into the top 10 continues the theme of monster movies. This film will likely flop due to the recent news that The Mummy 4 is in the works with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz returning to that franchise, and audiences will either see this film thinking it’s that one, or skip it altogether. The film has a smaller budget than the previous The Mummy films, and with Lee Cronin directing who has a much more horror based catalogue of films behind him, I think this one could be a sleeper hit of the year. Cronin’s previous film, Evil Dead Rise was particularly enjoyed by fans of that franchise, and I’d love to see a similar style, hard horror, with this version of The Mummy.
9. THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU
2025 was a quiet year for Star Wars. The only bit of Star Wars content we got was the second season of Andor (which was a big hit with critics and audiences). We haven’t had a Star Wars film on the big screen since The Rise of Skywalker disappointed audiences in 2019. The franchise returns to the big screen with their biggest hit on the small screen. Hopefully, it just doesn’t feel too much like it’s just an extended episode of The Mandalorian, it really needs to grasp the scope of being on a bigger screen, and having a bigger scale, otherwise the film could be a big flop.
8. SUPERGIRL
Superman was one of the hits of the year, and the next film in the DCU was teased during that film as well, with a brief appearance of Supergirl towards the end of the film. Supergirl will actually take place mostly off Earth, adapting the Woman of Tomorrow comic, and will feature Milly Alcock in the role, with Jason Momoa playing, not Aquaman, but Lobo. Early test screenings have been positive but not overwhelmingly so, but there’s a lot of praise out there for Alcock in the role.
7. NARNIA
We’ve never managed to make it the whole way through adapting all The Chronicles of Narnia books. With the cards now being in Netflix’s hands it feels like we have the best chance of that happening. They’ve given the keys to the Narnia to Greta Gerwig, a name you might remember, as she was the director of the extremely successful Barbie. We’re also starting with the first book (chronologically) The Magician’s Nephew, with a cast that includes Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan and Emma Mackey.
6. WERWULF
Robert Eggers’ has consistently delivered some of the best gothic horrors of the last few years. His most recent film, Nosferatu, was unfortunate not to pick up a Best Picture nomination, and went down as my favourite film from 2024 that I watched in 2025. His next film is a Werewolf horror set in medieval Britain, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp and Ralph Ineson all having roles in the film after they worked with Eggers on Nosferatu as well.
5. DISCLOSURE DAY
Steven Spielberg returns to the UFO science fiction genre, something he’s had big success with previously, with the likes of E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind and War of the Worlds. His latest film Disclosure Day seems to be his biggest film at least since Ready Player One in 2018. A first trailer was recently released teasing how the world would react if we found out aliens are real. The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo and Wyatt Russell.
4. AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY
I won’t list the cast as it would take up the whole page, but basically everyone is returning including Fox’s X-Men characters and Robert Downey Jr is returning to play Dr Doom. I’m as excited, as I am worried about this film. Yes, the Russo Brothers haven’t missed yet when they’ve done a Marvel film, but have struggled with their own films since working on Avengers: Endgame. I think once I see some more footage of this film I might feel a little more comfortable, as currently we’ve only officially seen 2 teasers, and 1 leaked teaser, amongst 50 different AI teasers.
3. SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY
I’ll never no be excited for a new Spider-Man movie. Spider-Man: No Way Home left the character off in the perfect place, where he’s now on his own in maybe the best suit we have ever seen. We still don’t know specifics on the film, with it being largely underwraps and even the main villain isn’t yet revealed, despite Michael Mando returning to the role of Scorpion and Marvin Jones III playing Tombstone. The film will also see Spidey team up or against Jon Bernthal crossing over as The Punisher, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, as well as Sadie Sink, Travis Trimmel and Liza Colon-Zayas all having their roles kept underwraps. The film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously directed Shang Chi so hopefully at the very least we will get some fantastic grounded fighting in the film. The trailer for this film doesn’t seem too far away with a leaked camera version of the trailer hitting the internet a couple of weeks ago.
2. DUNE: PART THREE
Dune: Part Two was absolutley perfect for me, it was the exact sort of film that I thrive of and why I love cinema, perfectly utilizing the benefits of the big screen, starring some of my favourite actors and actresses, directed by one of my favourite directors, in my favourite genre and it delivered in every single way. I don’t know as much about the Dune: Messiah storyline, but I do know it starts to get weird, and I can’t wait to see what Denis Villeneuve delivers us. And could it be Chalamet’s first film post an Oscars win? The film also adds Robert Pattinson and Anya Taylor-Joy to the cast.
1. THE ODYSSEY
Christopher Nolan is the best working director and finally got his first Oscar with Oppenheimer. His next film will be a telling of Homer’s Odyssey starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Mia Goth, Benny Safdie, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page and so many others. Never have I seen a film sell out opening day a year in advance with no footage being shown, something only cinephiles live for. The recent trailer has gone on to do good numbers, and an extended preview in IMAX playing before Avatar: Fire and Ash shows how epic this film is gong to be, a film no-one can afford to miss on the biggest screen possible.
What is your most anticipated film of the year? What’s missing from my list?
I hope everyone had a fantastic new years celebration. I have my first cinema trip of the year coming up tomorrow where I’ll be checking out the hotly anticipated Marty Supreme. So to make sure you don’t miss that review, follow me on social media @floodersfilms or via the buttons below.
Flooders Films 
Leave a comment